Today, on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, indigenous people and climate activists are gathered in Washington DC to demand the end to disastrous fossil fuel policies that continue to threaten native lands and cause climate change, despite the alarms from the recent IPCC report. Scroll down to take action below, or read on to learn more.
Ipsun would like to acknowledge the traditional ancestral territory of the Manahoac tribe in Fairfax County, upon which we are working every day. The tribe no longer exists; in the mid-1600’s they were killed by warring tribes and English settlers, as well as disease brought by the Europeans, until only about 50 members remained. These few joined with the Monacan tribes to the south. Many of these Monacan people were displaced by European encroachment and joined other tribes, but today about 2,000 people still live in Virginia as members of the Monacan Indian Nation.
Our company exists to fight climate change by installing as many solar panels as we can, but we know that the mission is bigger than that. If we want to save our planet from global heating, we must also acknowledge and actively fight against the long-standing systems, like colonialism, that are working against us. Colonialism is not just in the history books; it continues to this day as Indigenous people’s land is destroyed by polluting fossil fuel interests.
In Virginia and across the country, as fossil fuel companies build pipelines and infrastructure on ancestral lands with impunity, we see that Indigenous people are still marginalized and treated as disposable. Indigenous communities have contributed the least to the climate crisis, with ancestral practices that preserve the natural world. But they’re disproportionately impacted by environmental injustices with polluted air and water. To build a climate movement for us all, we must listen to indigenous voices all year round.
Take Action for Indigenous Peoples Rights Today
Learn about and take action against the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota, which violates the treaty rights of native peoples and nations in its path, and doubles the climate impacts of pipelines already in use in MN.
Community Health
- Crude oil contains over 1,000 chemicals, including harmful carcinogens like benzene.
- Line 3 threatens native culture and livelihoods by crossing Ojibwe territory, where native people have the right to live off the land.
There are 20 wild rice lakes within just one mile of Line 3 where many native people harvest this sacred food. In fact, thanks to pipeline company Enbridge, this type of contamination has already happened to Nottawaseppi people along the Kalamazoo spill site.
Carbon Impact
- Line 3 will double the flow of the old pipeline it is replacing, up to 370,000 more barrels of oil a day.
- The additional oil transported through Line 3 is the equivalent of the total CO2 daily emissions of 16- 18 million cars, every year the pipeline operates.
- According to the State of MN, Line 3 has an estimated cost to society of $287 billion in climate change related damage over 30 years.
Construction of the similar Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Image credit: 350.org
Read more about Line 3 here: https://www.stopline3.org/
Take action here: https://www.stopline3.org/biden
And of course, if you haven’t done it already, please also tell your legislators to support the Build Back Batter Act.
And of course, if you haven’t done it already, please also tell your legislators to support the Build Back Batter Act.
Thanks Fam! Happy Indigenous People’s Day!
